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Eric Snow

Eric Snow (born April 24, 1973) is an American retired professional basketball player and businessman. He is currently the Assistant Coach for the Florida Atlantic Owls men’s basketball team.

On January 18, 1998, Snow was acquired from Seattle by the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a second-round draft pick. He was immediately inserted into the 76ers’ starting lineup by head coach Larry Brown, and after averaging only 18.0 minutes per game (then a career high) for the first half of the season with Seattle, he averaged 35.8 minutes per game for the remainder of the season with Philadelphia.

As a pass-first, defensive-minded point guard, Snow became a stalwart of the Brown-era 76ers teams, due largely to his ability to guard the opposing team’s shooting guards, which made him an ideal complement to his diminutive but high-scoring backcourt mate Allen Iverson. Despite missing thirty-two games early in the 2000–01 season due to injury, Snow played a crucial role in helping the 76ers earn the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference and ultimately reach the 2001 NBA Finals, where they lost in five games to the Los Angeles Lakers. During the following season, Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant stated that nobody in the league defended him better than Snow.

In 2002–03, Snow posted career highs in points per game (12.9), rebounds per game (3.7), minutes per game (37.9), field goal percentage (45.2%), and free throw percentage (85.8%).

For the fifth time in his career, Snow played in all 82 games (starting 45). He averaged 4.3 points and 4.0 assists per game. He had a season high 18 points on January 13, 2007 against the Los Angeles Clippers (which is also his high point total in the regular season as a Cavalier) and a season high 11 assists on January 20, 2007 against the Golden State Warriors.

On January 30, 2007, Daniel Gibson was inserted in place of Snow in the Cavaliers’ starting lineup, bringing an end to a streak of starts that lasted for 127 games. As a starter in the 2006–2007 season, Snow averaged 5.1 points and 4.5 assists per game.

Snow played in 19 of the 20 Cavaliers playoff games. He averaged 1.7 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.

In his 13th NBA season, Snow played in 22 games and started five. He averaged 1.0 points and 1.9 assists per game. He had a season high five points on December 2, 2007 against the Boston Celtics and a season high six assists on December 15, 2007 against the Philadelphia 76ers.[10] As a starter, Snow averaged four assists per game.

On March 11, 2008, it was announced that Snow would miss four to six weeks due to arthritic-related symptoms in his left knee.[12] He did not play another game for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2007–08 regular season. The Akron Beacon Journal’s Brian Windhorst reported that Snow will not play in 2008–09 because of chronic left knee problems stemming from the injury sustained in 2007, and is retiring.

Eric Snow was also named captain of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007–08, along with LeBron James.

Snow tore cartilage in his knee prior to the 2008–09 season; he has been unable to play since the injury. Instead, he served on Head Coach Mike Brown’s staff as an assistant coach. This arrangement was unofficial, as Snow was still listed as a player on the Cavs’ roster.

He also worked as an analyst for NBA TV.

On April 4, 2009, Snow was officially released by the Cavs. Because the release was deemed “medically necessary”, the Cavs were not required to pay his salary